Lion's Teeth
Lion's Teeth is the eighth song on the album The Sunset Tree. Lyrics The king of the jungle Was asleep in his car When your chances fall in your lap like that You've gotta recognize them for what they really are Nobody in this house Wants to own up to the truth I crawl in shotgun and reach into his mouth And grab hold of one long sharp tooth And hold on For dear life I hold on Well of course he wakes up His paw hits the horn I am gonna regret The day that I was born And then Mom Rushes out to the driveway My sister too Everyone's screaming I am dreaming of you I hold on For dear life I hold on And my arms get sore And my palms start to sweat And the tears roll down my face 'Til my cheeks are hot and red and soaking wet In come the cops They blowtorch the doors I start wailing The lion roars There's no good way to end this Anyone can see There's this great big you And little old me And we hold on For dear life We hold on We hold on Comments by John Darnielle About this Song *"It's a song about the sort of things you think about wishing you could do when you are utterly powerless and you're seventeen or sixteen and it's tough." -- 2005-10-31 - Knitting Factory - New York, NY *"This is a revenge fantasy. It's called 'Lion's Teeth.'" -- 2007-01-02 - Club Capitol - Perth, Australia *"This is a song about survival." -- 2007-11-03 - The Slowdown - Omaha, NE *"This is a hard song for John to play." -- Come, Come to the Sunset Tree LP Things Referenced in this Song * The "long sharp tooth" may be a reference to the line "Love is like the lion's tooth" from "Crazy Jane Grown Old Looks At The Dancers", a WB Yeats poem about a destructive, passionate relationship. Live Shows this Song Was Played at *2004-08-20 - Durham Music Festival - Durham Armory - Durham, NC *2004-10-08 - Knitting Factory - New York, NY *2004-10-11 - The Black Cat - Washington, D.C. *2004-10-15 - The Social - Orlando, FL *2004-10-19 - Village Tavern - Mt. Pleasant, SC *2005-03-25 - Rubber Gloves - Denton, TX *2005-04-28 - Will's Pub - Orlando, FL *2005-05-02 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC *2005-05-03 - The Black Cat - Washington, D.C. *2005-05-04 - First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA *2005-05-05 - Knitting Factory - New York, NY *2005-05-07 - Northsix - Brooklyn, NY *2005-06-18 - China Clipper - Olympia, WA *2005-06-19 - Neumo's - Seattle, WA *2005-06-20 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR *2005-06-21 - WOW Hall - Eugene, OR *2005-06-23 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA *2005-07-02 - Old American Can Factory - Brooklyn, NY *2005-07-04 - Fulton Mall Parking Garage - Brooklyn, NY *2005-09-14 - Newtown - Sydney, Australia *2005-10-14 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL *2005-10-17 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, ON, Canada *2005-10-18 - The Buffalo Icon - Buffalo, NY *2005-10-27 - Remis Auditorium - Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, MA *2005-10-28 - Fuel Rocket Club - Dartmouth College - Hanover, NH *2005-10-29 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *2005-10-31 - Knitting Factory - New York, NY *2006-06-09 - Neumo's - Seattle, WA *2006-09-16 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL *2006-09-19 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, Ontario *2006-09-24 - Pearl Street Clubroom - Northampton, MA *2006-09-30 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *2006-10-23 - The Gargoyle - St. Louis, MO *2006-10-31 - Spanish Moon - Baton Rouge, LA *2006-11-05 - New College of Florida - Sarasota, FL *2006-12-31 - Falls Festival - Lorne, Australia *2007-01-02 - Club Capitol - Perth, Australia *2007-03-01 - Nuemo's - Seattle, WA *2007-03-04 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR *2007-03-07 - The Independent - San Francisco, CA *2007-03-09 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA *2007-03-10 - Steynberg Gallery - San Luis Obispo, CA *2007-03-11 - The El Rey - Los Angeles, CA *2007-04-04 - Woody West @ Pusterviksbaren - Gothenburg, Sweden *2007-10-30 - Pabst Theater - Milwaukee, WI *2007-11-03 - The Slowdown - Omaha, NE *2007-11-08 - Jackpot Saloon - Lawrence, KS *2007-11-10 - Biliken Club - St. Louis University - St. Louis, MO *2007-11-13 - Madhatter - Covington, KY *2008-02-22 - Richard's on Richards - Vancouver, British Columbia *2008-03-14 - Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, MA *2008-03-15 - Middle East - Cambridge, MA *2008-09-15 - ULU - London, England *2008-12-05 - Manning Bar - Sydney, Australia *2008-12-09 - The Rosemount - Perth, Australia *2008-12-17 - Kings Arms - Auckland, New Zealand *2009-10-11 - Ruby Lounge - Manchester, England *2010-04-09 - San Francisco Bath House - Wellington, New Zealand *2010-04-11 - The Zoo - Brisbane, Australia *2010-04-14 - The Corner Hotel - Melbourne, Australia *2010-05-31 - Sasquatch Music Festival - George, WA *2010-06-07 - Macewan Hall - Calgary, Alberta *2010-06-12 - Blue Moose Tap House - Iowa City, IA *2010-09-04 - FYF Fest - Los Angeles State Historic Park - Los Angeles, CA *2010-09-08 - Brudenell Social Club - Leeds, England *2010-09-09 - Koko - London, England *2010-09-10 - End of the Road Festival - Salisbury, England *2010-10-04 - The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS *2010-10-05 - The Blue Note - Columbia, MO *2010-10-06 - Academy of Contemporary Music @ UCO - Oklahoma City, OK *2010-10-08 - Austin City Limits Festival - Austin, TX *2011-02-15 - University of Washington - Meany Hall - Seattle, WA *2011-08-03 - Meijer Gardens - Grand Rapids, MI *2011-08-05 - Lollapalooza - Grand Park - Chicago, IL *2012-01-23 - Club Downunder - Tallahassee, FL *2012-01-25 - The Crowbar - Tampa, FL *2012-02-03 - The Blind Tiger - Greensboro, NC *2012-02-04 - The Haw River Ballroom - Saxapahaw, NC *2012-06-22 - Rio Theater - Vancouver, British Columbia *2012-06-25 - Mission Theater - Portland, OR *2012-07-28 - Antiwarpt Festival - St. Petersburg, FL *2012-10-26 - Blue Moose Tap House - Iowa City, IA *2013-07-26 - Newport Folk Festival - Newport, RI *2016-09-01 - The State Theatre - Falls Church, VA *2016-09-18 - Rams Head Live - Baltimore, MD *2016-09-19 - The National - Richmond, VA *2016-09-20 - Jefferson Theater - Charlottesville, VA *2016-09-22 - Buskirk-Chumley Theatre - Bloomington, IN *2016-09-23 - Castle Theatre - Bloomington, IL *2016-09-24 - Midpoint Music Festival - Cincinnati, OH *2016-09-26 - The Englert Theatre - Iowa City, IA *2016-09-30 - The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE *2016-10-01 - Madrid Theater - Kansas City, MO *2016-10-02 - The Blue Note - Columbia, MO *2016-10-03 - Codfish Hollow Barnstormers - Maquoketa, IA *2016-12-02 - The Pinhook - Durham, NC *2017-06-28 - Columbus Theatre - Providence, RI *2017-07-03 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL *2017-07-09 - The Castle - Bloomington, IL *2017-07-12 - Peabody Opera House - St. Louis, MO *2017-07-13 - ACM@UCO Performance Lab - Oklahoma City, OK *2017-11-11 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA *2018-04-23 - Ardmore Music Hall - Ardmore, PA *2019-04-30 - Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY *2019-09-28 - City Winery - Philadelphia, PA Videos of this Song *2006-06-09 - Neumo's - Seattle, WA *2006-10-31 - Spanish Moon - Baton Rouge, LA *2006-11-05 - New College of Florida - Sarasota, FL *2008-02-22 - Richard's on Richards - Vancouver, British Columbia *2009-10-11 - Ruby Lounge - Manchester, England *2010-04-09 - San Francisco Bath House - Wellington, New Zealand *2010-09-04 - FYF Fest - Los Angeles State Historic Park - Los Angeles, CA *2010-09-08 - Brudenell Social Club - Leeds, England *2010-10-04 - The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS *2011-02-15 - University of Washington - Meany Hall - Seattle, WA *2012-01-23 - Club Downunder - Tallahassee, FL *2012-01-25 - The Crowbar - Tampa, FL *2016-09-01 - The State Theatre - Falls Church, VA (solo piano) Category:The Sunset Tree songs Category:Come, Come to the Sunset Tree songs Category:Video